Atlantic Highlands at anchor

Calm Anchorage at Atlantic Highlands

We got some respite from the constant rock and roll last night at Newport YC, at least until 5:30 am when it started up again. We heard the pitter-patter of rain in the morning too and looked at the NOAA radar to see when it would stop - not until late morning. Meanwhile, I met Peter Grabow who has a Nonsuch. I asked whether he knew Bill Spencer and he replied, "Of course!" He wanted me to convey his hello to Bill and added that he was also wishing to take the same route we did to Florida but had to wait until he could retire, several years from now.

Peter Grabow, owns a Nonsuch

Eventually we shoved off and headed toward the Narrows which was filled with large boats. Looking ahead, all you could see in the dim light (foggy...) were lots of barges arrayed in all directions. Looking at the chartplotter with AIS you could tell which ones were moving and in what direction and which ones were just anchored. I had to change course four times by 90 degrees or more to avoid all the movement conveyed by AIS! It's a great help.

There was a guy at the YC who actually bid and bought this lighthouse!

We made Atlantic Highlands by 3:00 pm and found it very crowded in the anchorge area (there were plenty of moorings but who wants to pay the $50/night fee?!) Everybody was waiting for the good weather predicted for Wednesday before heading south I suppose. For ourselves, we plan on leaving Wednesday morning around 5:00 am. We expect to take 12 hours to reach Atlantic City. We plan on docking at the Golden Nugget (the new name for Trump Marina) since they've lowered the rate to $2/ft for this time of year.